A measurement system for thermal transport under extreme external fields
Abstract
UC Santa Barbara propose the development of a state-of-the-art platform for measuring thermal transport in technologically relevant solid materials under extreme external electrical and-or magnetic fields. These measurements are critical for 1) developing more efficient thermal management solutions for power electronic devices where extreme electrical fields and temperature gradients coexist, 2) testing solid-state thermal switching materials whose thermal conductivity can be effectively tuned by external electrical and magnetic fields, and 3) providing fundamental insights into energy transport mechanisms in novel quantum materials. Our proposed system overcomes the challenge that most current methods to measure thermal transport under external fields require large-size samples while many functional materials of interest are in much smaller form (e.g. thin films and two dimensional materials) or can only be synthesized in small amounts (e.g. nanomaterials and small single-crystal quantum materials). Our proposed system is based on an established thermal characterization technique, time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR), which will be interfaced with a cryogen-free closed-loop optical cryostat equipped with an electromagnet and an electrical probe station. Our system will be capable of characterizing thermal transport in samples with sizes as small as tens of micrometers in a broad temperature range (3.2 K to 475 K) with external magnetic fields up to 2.5 Tesla and electrical fields up to 10 MV-cm (in ultrawide band gap materials with matching breakdown fields). This proposed equipment will facilitate multiple research projects currently sponsored by AFOSR, ONR and NSF. The proposed equipment will also significantly contribute to the education and training of graduate students in experimental ultrafast optics, thermal transport, and materials science under extreme conditions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 06, 2024
- Source ID
- FA95502310336
Entities
People
- Bolin Liao
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of California, Santa Barbara